What Are A Doctors Fiduciary Duties Toward A Patient?
A doctor has a fiduciary duty of confidentiality towards a patient. This is to encourage disclosure to the doctor of facts which may help in diagnosis or treatment but which may be embarassing or harmful to the patient if released to others. This fiduciary duty includes a duty not to disclose any medical information received in connection with treatment. If medical information is disclosed without the client’s prior approval (usually in the form of a waiver), the client may bring a lawsuit against the doctor for breaching their fiduciary duty.
